Usain Bolt
　Reading an article on the interview with the Olympic 100m and 200m champion about his future dream, I thought he was a fat mouth, or rather a man of confidence with great achievement. Read the following snippet, and you'll see what I mean.
　The article said:
　"Bolt, a Manchester United fan, believes he has what it takes to make a name for himself on the pitch."
　"I always watch those guys and I think I could be a professional footballer," he told Sportsweek.
　"I'd like to play football for two years. Maybe I could get into a good side or even an average side."
　"Earlier in the week, Bolt told CBBC Newsround that had he not made it in athletics he would have been a cricketer."
　(If you could translate the underlined part of the sentences, you should be competent in English.)


Utilitarianism
　The major doctrine of utilitarianism is "The greatest good for the greatest number." 　　　　Professor Sandel at Harverd University challenges this principle by presenting the hypothetical scenario to launch his course on moral reasoing.
　If you had to choose between (1) killing one person to save the lives of five others and (2) doing nothing even though you knew that five people would die right before your eyes if you did nothing—what would you do? What would be the right thing to do?

　We come to the conclusion that the question of what is right and what is wrong is not always black and white. Through the debate on above-mentioned issues, he states, "We will be better and more responsible citizens and examine the presuppositions of public policy, hone the political judgement, and become a more effective participant in public affairs." The more aware we become of the social and political problems, the better and more responsible citizens we become. Judge what is hard to judge right for there is no hard answer to our lives. Sandel challenges us with difficult moral dilemmas and asks our opinion about the right thing to do. His purpose is not to perplex us but to help us become more critically minded thinkers about the moral decisions we face in our everyday lives. Stick to what you believe is right to the last.

In the 20 highest-earning international athletes Japanese MBL player Ichiro comes No.6 , making a leap forward from the previous year's rank No.15. Among them are Roger Federer, Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronald, Manny Pacuiao. 　Their income is supposed to includes salary, bounuses, endorsement income (commercial work fee), and appearance fees(guarantee). Appearance fees means the income those athletes earn when they appear on TV, talk shows or other medias.

Kouhei Tsuka　(7/12/2010)

　　I don't know much about Kohei Tsuka except that he is a famous play writer, one of whose plays is Kamata Kosihin Kyoku. So I didn’t have any special sentiment about his death. However, it hit me hard when I knew he had already left his farewell note in January, when he declared himself having been affected by lung cancer.
　　It goes as follows. “My dear friends, I am going to leave notes to you. Looking back on my life, I feel quite ashamed of it. I believe the departed should leave nothing troublesome to the deceased. I have neither a postmortem name nor a tomb just because I am an atheist. I would like to have no vigil, funeral and memorial service held for me.
　　In the meantime, I have my daughter scatter my ash over Tsushima Straits, which locates between Japan and South Korea. Thank you for all of your kindness and support.”

Wallet back after 69 years(6/8/2010)

　An old man who lives in an assisted-living community and gets around on a motorized wheelchair has got his long-lost wallet back for the first time in 69 years. He lost the wallet or it was stolen in 1941. About 40 years later an electrician was doing some work in the basement of the school when he discovered the dusty wallet sitting on top of a junction box.
　It was almost a miracle that the lost wallet was found and more surprisingly the electrican didn't just bring it to a police box as a lost and found item. He thought this wallet should be got back to the owner and tried every effort to find its owner in vain.
　After efforts and kindness of the people involved in this case the Social Security Administration was able to track down the owner.
　It is really ironic that it took the lost wallet such a long time to be brought back to its owner; it can't be if the wallet was found soon after it was stolen. This long period of time moved the people concerned to take pains and labors, I guess.
　
Galarraga (6/4/2010)

　Galarraga, a MBL pitcher, said,"I know nobody's perfect." This is a perfect comment when asked how he felt about a historic imperfect call which spoiled the perfect game in MBL. His reaction must have reflected credit on himself and saved all concerned in the matter.
　I was glued to the words on the board hanged at the stadium by a fan, which read "28 outs in the perfect game." A nice copy for the game. It must have encouraged Galarraga and I think it's done justice to his historic achievement.

Motoyuki Shibata(5/31/2010)

　Mr. Motoyuki Shibata, who is one of the most prominent translators in Japan, is a very friendly and humble person. His appearance ,his demeanor and his manner of speaking don't offer us any hint of major figure in the field of the translation. He doesn't assume an air of self-importance. When he deliver a lecture, he seems nervous and innocent like a boy. He is sincere and makes every effort to make the audience relaxed and pleased whenever he talks.
　You'll find yourselves much mystified to see there are two different Shibatas; one Shibata delivering in English and the other in Japanese. Once he begins to speak in English, he seems to divest his mask and clothes and all of a sudden,he showed up as a gentleman with an European attire emerges. But there is one condition in order to see a getleman come out; just keep in mind to close your eyes when you listen to his English. I may be curt to say like this, but this is from what I read in a magazine. A female interviewer candidly told him things of this kind and Mr. Shibata answered in earnest, analizing that it was because he spoke in a low voice when he spoke English. He didn't seem to feel any sign of exasperation to her insensitivity. This is what I like when I talk about him.


Bonou(煩悩) ～
Aida Mitsuo and Junichi Watanabe (5/31)
  　It is often said that human beings are creatures harassed by earthly desires and it is only when we can purify our spirit of evil thought that we live our lives free of any pressure and we find our own way of life without any regret. Our lives are full of worldly desires; a desire to be highly valued, to be more attractive to opposite sex, to be get head, to gain the fame, to make two commas and whatnot.
 　 Mitsuo Aida, a calligrapher and poet, wrote in his books that the older we get, the more worldly desires we have. What counts most in our lives, he implied, is to learn how to stay away from these earthly desires and not to be bothered by them. Junichi Watanabe, who is a famous novelist, on the other claims that worldly desires are the resources and incentives for improving ourselves. He said humans are born with 108 worldly desires and ,if possible, we should have more. He defies stereotype. His ides is to make efforts not to remove our desires but to live along with them. Which way you prefer to take?

(5/7/2010)
　Do you think you feel uncomfortable if you are called “putaro” when unemployed? Most people may feel the same way in spite of the fact of being unemployed. As for me, I don’t feel bad when called “putaro” or frittering away. It is rather difficult to explain why I am not embarrassed to fritter away, but I don’t think I am wasting my life doing nothing as is imagined from the term “putaro.” No one could properly draw a line between a "putaro" wasting the life and one not wasting the life.
　The difference, I believe, lies in the composure of mind. More specifically, people should have a certain period of time as “putaro” to look back on the past decades. One of the great advantages of being "putaro" is have much time to contemplate and do what they’ve wanted to do but couldn’t do for the lack of time.
　I felt I should enjoy this form of life for a year or so, but now I’ve found a job which is worth doing. I don’t want to quit being “putaro” but ironically enough, if the chance favors me, I have to give it up.

Tiger Woods came across as humble and chastened
　I don't play golf myself and I'm not a great fun of golf. On the contrary, I don't regard it as sport. I feel embarassed to see some professional players smoking on the way.Can you think of any other sport than golf, where smoking is available amid a game. Even I like watching Tiger Woods play golf for he is, I think, an athelete, which I brand him.
　It often happens that people suddenly got so stoic about sex and relentless to those involved in sex scandal, especially to those who had pristine image. We had better remember Jesus Christ saying to those who threw stones to a woman who had been caught in adultery.
　'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' 

The Most Important Tool in life

　What can be the most important tool you've ever encountered to help you make the big choices in life? For Steve Jobs it was "remembering that I"ll be dead soon."　He went on to say, "All external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. It is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."
　It's not a matter of life or death in my case, but I've come to think of the rest of my life. I should make the most of the time left to me. We shouldn't waste our time living someone else's life for later or sooner we have to make a good end.
　I've been asking myself, as Steve Jobs did, "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And the answer has been "Yes" and "No."　If I had enough time ahead to spare, I might as well take both of them. We can't live double lives, i.e. we can live but once. 

What he likes - Steve Jobs' touch of humor - 2/26/2010
　In his speech at Stanford University he showed a quote that went like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right."

　If you can make out the punch line of this joke, you certainly have a fairly good sense of humor and a good command of English.
　In my understanding, "you'll most certainly be right." has double meanings.
　1) you'll end up to be somebody.
　2) you are bound to die.

Steve Jobs' Golden Lessons 　2/24/2010
　"You know, we don’t grow most of the food we eat. We wear clothes other people make. We speak a language that other people developed. We use a mathematics that other people evolved… I mean, we’re constantly taking things. It’s a wonderful, ecstatic feeling to create something that puts it back in the pool of human experience and knowledge."
　
　“I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates.”
　
　“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Steve Jobs 2/23/2010　　
(chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios)
　I watched Steve Jobs' speech delivered at the commencement of Stanford University on the popular video-sharing website YouTube. Overwhelming but not preachy is his speech with an occasional touch of humor. One of the most impressive parts in his speech is as follows. After I read the script again and again, I asked myself the same question and I'm afraid the answer has been No so far.

　"I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."

Earth Marathon

寛平さん曰く
「俺は日本国民として生まれてきて、俺は日本の皆の為に頑張るんじゃー！日本国民盛り上げてやんねん。」

　He said in his blog that Japanese have lost something precious we once had which was passed down from our ancestors. He claims Japan has lagged behind other nations he ran through in almost every respect. He has learned the people he had met was very powerful and working desperately to survive.
　He is not just a sort of politicians nor critics who have been complaining of what Japan is and have done nothing to vitalize this country but is the very person to revive Japan showing all he can do. He is not apathetic. You could see him running on the web.

Earth marathon


　Last January he set out on a two-and-half-year long journey and was determined to keep running all the way. It seemed daunting logistics and few expected it to turn out successful. I was one of them, too. Yet he is running right at this moment. What he can do may be nothing but just running and it has cheered a countless number of helpless and languid people. Running may well have more power than some policies to revive the economy of the shattered country. It is because running is a kind of exercise everyone has shared and known what it is like. I'll keep trying to make my dreams come true.